NIH R01 · 2025
Structural and mechanistic basis of channelrhodopsin function
PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of this project is to understand the mechanistic basis for gating and function in channelrhodopsins, retinal-binding proteins that are similar to vertebrate visual proteins and form light-gated ion channels to control phototaxis in motile algae. In the nearly two decades since they were first cloned, channelrhodopsins have become important models for understanding membrane protein structure, function, and biophysics and widely utilized molecular tools in optogenetics, in which their heterologous expression in genetically targeted cells enables control of membrane potential and electrical excitability with light. Here, we will apply cryo-electron microscopy to…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.